Lesa Semmler

I'm not sure how I answer quite that cheaper and smarter, providing health care services in the Northwest Territories to, you know, birthing people that are waiting to have babies is always going to be cheaper. Having staff that we can, you know using locums, bringing locums in, they you know, that's been one of the areas that we you know, even with locums, that is we try to hire fulltime first and then if we can't hire fulltime, then we go to terms, which locums are more for physicians. That's the term they use for physicians. We use terms, term contracts with nurses, which are fully...

I don't have that level of detail. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, thank you. Medical travel is, I think, probably one of the standing agenda items with Indigenous governments. Every Indigenous government that we speak to will raise this issue. I am committed to continuing to work with Indigenous governments and hearing what their concerns are with how we move patients.

They've also stressed the issues from the Council of Leaders to Indigenous Service Canada, how we move patients. So it's not just the government policy part. It's the work that we're doing on the NIHB medical travel policy with you know, in collaboration with Indigenous governments. So...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have that level of detail but I know that the Member did have a written question. I don't know if that I can't recall if that information was in there, but I can get back to the Member if we can compile that data. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if there are you know, I guess, again, if it's an elder, you know I hear the Member. I know of many stories, you know, and I'm not going to deny that this is something that we are aware of. We know this is a gap in our policy, and that is why the medical travel policy is its own target in our you know, in the business plans. And so this is one of the areas that I really want to focus on. I want to use some of the information I will learn probably from the bilateral with Inuvialuit, and also to be able to hear from we have the Indigenous patient...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have committed to it in the business plan. Like I said, it is in the bigger picture. I understand the Member wants this specific area but then the other Member wants a specific area, and then if I go down the list and throughout the next four years, every Member's going to have their specific instance. So we need to make sure that we have all compiled all those instances and come out with a policy that's fair and equitable for the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I want to provide the House with an update on the negotiations and discussions with the Government of Canada on the delivery of the federal NonInsured Health Benefits Program. This is a national program available to eligible First Nations and Inuit residents.

In the NWT, portions of the program are administered by the GNWT on behalf of Indigenous Services Canada, through a contribution agreement. Through this agreement, the Department of Health and Social Services is responsible for coordination of medical travel, arranging access to dental care and vision care services, and...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, generally, clients who are in the care of medical escorts are not provided with or sorry, with medical escorts are not provided with nonmedical escorts. So that would be in the instances if somebody is medevaced. Air ambulance and emergency services are excluded under the NWT medical travel Policy. But the department is aware that and does acknowledge that there is an emergency service policy that could include escort criteria. Again, as I've just obtained this department and I know we're going to go through a fulsome review of our medical travel and how...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, the funding through the community wellness and addiction recovery fund is to support Indigenous governments to deliver communitybased mental health and addiction recovery programs unique to their needs, and Indigenous governments may absolutely choose to use their funding for O and M and ontheland programs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to commit to that on the floor today as I'm unable to be able to confirm whether we could meet that funding and clinical training requirements as I mentioned in my previous comments. But I'm committed to continue to work with what we can do to expand this program, and if there's ways that we can find other funding to fund this, if we can support it within our system, then I'm always willing to commit to continuing that work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.